More information has come to light about Omar Gonzalez–the man who jumped the White House fence over the weekend, and entered the building with a pocket knife on his person–and none of it is flattering.
Gonzalez, a decorated veteran of the Iraq War who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, had 800 rounds of live ammunition in his car at the time of his fence-hopping, plus a hatchet, and two machetes.
In addition, Gonzlez was detained for driving erratically in Virginia in July. When they searched his car, officers there found a sawed-off shotgun–illegal under Federal law–and a map of Washington, D.C., with the White House circled.
They also found ten other guns, two of which were military-style sniper rifles.
And in August, Gonzalez was stopped, though not arrested, for walking the perimeter of the White House with a hatchet in his waistband.
According to a New York Times profile, Gonzalez became increasingly paranoid after returning from Iraq in January of 2008. Neighbors said he told them he thought the government was trying to bug his house.
After being arrested this weekend, Gonzalez told a Secret Service agent he believed the atmosphere is collapsing, and that he had information that he needed to get to President Obama.
The President and his family were not home at the time of the intrusion. Since then, they have been briefed several times on both the situation and the Secret Service’s ongoing internal review of procedures.
